Dear Payton,

Chapter 13

It's 4:03 p.m and I just got home from Harrisville. I pull up to the apartment and I could see the living room light was on. I got out of the car and walked up to the door. I knocked before letting myself in that way I wouldn't frighten Payton if she was awake. I walked in and whispered, "Payton?" I looked across the room and there she was asleep on the couch, with a half eaten bowl of cereal on the night stand. I smirked a little and ran upstairs to grab her favorite blanket. I walked back downstairs quietly, covered her up, and took the bowl of cereal to the kitchen. I heard Payton toss and turn and then she whispered, "Sam, where did you go?" I turned off the TV and kneeled down beside here and said, "I just went to see my mom before we moved." Payton smiled a little and said, "Okay baby, now go to bed! We have a long today tomorrow." "Don't you want to go to bed with me?" I asked. She smiled as she sat up and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders. She held out her arms and laughed, "Carry me." I shook my head and walked over to the couch. I bent my knees down in front of her and she wrapped her arms around my neck avoiding my tattoo. I got back up and wrapped her feet around my waist. I walked upstairs and over to the bed to let her down. She got off, crawled over to her side of the bed, and got under the sheets. I changed into yoga pants quickly, then I laid down next to her. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and pulled me closer to her. I smiled and closed my eyes, I felt at ease with myself. I felt like I was home and I felt protected. It had been a while since I felt that way, I am so excited to move to Chicago. I always wanted to get out of here and go somewhere new, where no one knew who I was.

It's 11:35a.m and I woke up to a voicemail from my sociology teacher. I stretched and rolled out of bed to change into jeans and a white tank. I went to the bathroom and took the plastic off my tattoo. It was swollen a little and the words were outlined in red. I put some cream on it and put a grey cardigan on as well. After that, I grabbed my phone and ran downstairs to Payton and some movers loading stuff onto two, big, rental trucks. "Morning baby," Payton said while handing me a cup of coffee. I smiled and said, "Morning!" Payton grabbed my hand and pulled me to the kitchen while asking, "Why are you dressed so nice?" "I need to go down to R.I.C and transfer my credits. Do you have the car keys?" I asked. Payton grabbed her purse off the table and said, "Yeah, sorry. I went to the bank this morning. Can you go down to the office and pay the other half of our lease? I think it's $2000." "Already did. I got the security deposit back as well. I just used that towards the lease." I said while taking another drink of my coffee. Payton smiled and said, "Great! That was really stressing me out. I know they probably hate us down at the office. But, oh well, I don't care much." She also pulled out $20 from her back pocket and handed it to me, "Here. Go out and get you and your professor some breakfast. I got everything under control here." I smiled, kissed her softly, and said, "Thanks baby, I'll be back shortly! I love you." "I love you too, beautiful!" She said while walking me towards the door. I got in my car and I rushed towards McDonalds to get some breakfast for Mr. Lace and I. While I was driving, I called my professor and said,

"Hey, It's Sam! I'm dropping by to ask about transferring my credits to the University of Chicago?"
"Oh, Sam! I've missed you, I haven't seen you in my class for 2 weeks. I thought something bad had happened!" He said.
"No, no. My fiancé got a promotion and we're moving today. I should have gotten it done sooner but there was just too much going on!" I said.
"Well, I'm always free after 1:00p.m and it looks like it's about to be 12 o'clock now. You can come by and sit in on my class if you'd like." He said.
"Yeah, sounds great! Thanks again for everything! I'll see you at 1:00!" I said.
"Sounds good! Stay safe on those roads." He said before hanging up.

It's 12:12p.m and I had just arrive to R.I.C. I walked into south building with a McDonalds bag hanging from my teeth and a coffee in each hand. A few minutes after entering the south building entrance, I heard my phone go off. I stopped and laid everything down on the floor and I checked my phone. It was a message from Payton asking about which boxes I wanted to throw away. While I was texting her back I heard this familiar voice call out, "Payton?" I turned around and it the tattoo artist from last night. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans with a Metallica shirt on as well. He had a binder in one hand and his keys in the other. When I finally realized who it was I said, "David? What are you doing here?" He smiled and said, "Well, I go here. I thought you looked familiar! So, how's your tattoo?" I smiled and pulled my cardigan to the side. He admired it and said, "Hm, doesn't look too bad. Does it hurt?" "Not really." I said back to him while shaking my head. He smiled up at me and said, "Well, it's looking good. It'll take about a couple weeks for the swelling to go down. It might scab over a little but that's okay. Just make sure you don't pick at it." I shook my head and said, "By the way, my names Sam. Payton is my fiancée." He laughed at himself a little and said, "Oh okay, I'm sorry! I guess I got y'all mixed up!" I smirked and said, "It's fine! You're not the only one!" I bent down and grabbed the cups of coffee and he bent over to get the bag. "So, where you headed? I'll walk with you!" I pointed towards the double door leading to the north side of the campus, "I'm headed to see Professor Lance, I'm getting my credits transferred!" David started to walk beside me and he said, "Why are you transferring? Where you headed?" I smiled and said, "My girlfriend, I mean, Fiancée and I are moving today. We're moving to Chicago cause she got a promotion." He shook his head and said, "Ah, sounds nice! Well I wish you the best of luck in Chicago! If you ever need me, hit me up! Just call me at the tattoo shop." I smiled and said, "Thank you! That really means a lot and thanks for walking me to class! I also love my tattoo, thank you for that!" He laughed and said, "You're very welcome!" When we got to Professor's room, David opened the door for me. I walked in and sat in the first seat that I could find in the vary back. David handed me the bag, kissed my cheek, and left the room.